Spain – RTVE, the Spanish broadcaster in charge of the country’s participation in Eurovision 2020, has revealed tonight that they have internally chosen Blas Cantó to represent them in Rotterdam!
He always dreamed about it and he’s finally getting a chance to do Eurovision! He already took part in EuroJunior, the Spanish selection for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2004, and in 2011 his band band Auryn, took part in the Spanish national final only to get second with their song “Volver“:
The boyband Auryn has released four albums which helped them become “the Best Spanish Act in the MTV Europe Music Awards”. As a solo artist, Blas released Complicado in 2018, featuring a 65 million views hit “Él no soy yo“:
The song has not yet been written and “RTVE is already working with the singer, producers and song writers to find the perfect song that completes the Spanish 2020 entry” (official statement). What do you think of this internal choice? Pastora and Ruth have proved in the past that internal selections work best for Spain, so can it do the trick again?
The Eurovision Times 
It seems that Mermaid and me are heading for a common citizenship in the near future! :D
According to the Turkish defence minister Hulusi Akar, at least.
https://scontent.fskg1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/p261x260/72360739_2452874991650746_197876788368506880_n.jpg?_nc_cat=1&_nc_oc=AQk-FOh-R4M5a8ufxaRiXBBR0yHlug0by-W8UoHAkOz-FU1B304xAlQfo-_oWzJksFE&_nc_ht=scontent.fskg1-2.fna&oh=482bbbd11fde580e4d2eaa75f1f5371d&oe=5E19A9D6
…and Dimitris :D
…and Donnie’s home town :D
…and Dino’s :D
…and Avat’s! :D hahaha
Don’t make the politician inside me to wake up 😈😁
And I see the Thyra volcano finally erupted destroying everything in it’s path.
Probably! That’s actually what stopped Mr Akar from claiming the rest of the rocks and the islands in the Aegean Sea! :P
Ugh will these maps of “Greater xcountrx” ever be a thing of the past?
Also the map is cropped; surely Akar meant to include parts of Berlin and the Ruhr Valley.
That’s the reason I love tiny countries. I have never seen a greater Liechtenstein, San Marino or Andorra map f. e. :) Moreover, those countries aren’t prone to the unfortunate habit of starting wars.
Yes they really have to be tiny tho – I seem to remember there were some plans for a “greater Luxembourg” after WW2; never went far but the idea was there in governing circles.
I have always said: Luxembourg is faaaaaaar too big … ;) :(
If ppl were easily triggered by these kind of maps done by some 15 years olds, we would have had many world wars, no?
I suppose Mr Akar is no 15 year old boy, but apparently he has a 15 year old behaviour since he is endorsing such maps.
PS: It was on his FB account but he seems to have deleted it by now. Such a chicken.
I checked and he does not have a personal account on any social media.The ones present are not verified accounts
There is no such thing regarding this on Turkish Twitter as well
And please tell me where you got this info since It would be absurd for a minister to release such thing
“It would be absurd for a minister to release such thing”
Dear mermaid, it would also be absurd for a president (Erdogan) to talk to a minister of a foreign country (Germany’s Haiko Maas) the way he did yesterday. But he did.
Well of course I am not gonna defend him.. But there are also very wrong info and smear campaign going on on the internet too
At least their government say clearly what is on their minds. And putting it to work, first to the south in Syria.
Let’s see when greeks will get out of their blissful state and realise that their security can not be based on american bases or european talking shop institutions. The military service has already been cut ridiculously short to win politicians votes. Now we are facing such a critical situation and nobody even talks about bringing it back to where it was, expanding it to women or cutting deferments for those who study abroad. The best way to invite trouble is to continue in this blissful state of pretending we live in Belgium.
“Talking shop” is also known as diplomacy. I find it highly disturbing if people use deragotary terms in order to deligitimize strategies that aim at serving compromise and preserving peace. I guess that using strong language makes people feel very he-manly …
I am not interested in gender language criticism. I have made it clear in my comment that for me this is an issue of importance for both genders anyway. If we value peace, the only way to preserve it is to be prepared for any eventuality and not try to buy peace at any cost. Basic lesson from the 1930s.
The greeks have already made the mistake of thinking that being part of Europe shielded them from unpleasant realities on economic matters. As a voting citizen of this country I wish they don’t make the same mistake on foreign policy.
I am not against having an army but I prefer diplomacy to war, and that’s the reason I think that using language like “talking shop” isn’t helpful … to put it mildly.
Diplomacy with ISIS and some and Taliban may be very fruitful.
Sorry but that is a very silly comment, Avat. :(
Ok :)
Spanish ESC fans will be very happy to see that Blas Cantó has already collected 320 comments on ET. High hopes … ;)
In my opinion (but of course everyone can disagree and it is not my decision to make anyhow) there is far too much political discussion going on here lately. I know it is silly season at the moment. But I am afraid that this is bound to go wrong someday. But like I said, this is only what I think of it.
Of course if you see an inaccurate bullsh*t taken from internet you will react, it is human nature not that we are all into politics!
I really don’t know what is good with bringing provacative political stuff here when there are lots of online platforms present, I genuinely can not see good intentions behind it😎
Poor Rob just created a page not bother ppl with all movie talks we made… In fact he did not need to.. At least movies are connecting ppl rather than dividing them😜
“I genuinely can not see good intentions behind it”
So, now I have malevolent/dark intentions? :o
I thought that after so many years both here and on esctoday earlier in the past, I have shown already my… “intentions”.
Silly me.
And just to make things clear and rest the case:
By posting that map, apart from wanting to show where the nationalistic/ militaristic hysteria by the leadership of a government can lead to, I had humorous intentions. Apparently my intentions were not appreciated. My bad.
Oxi, you claimed this was shared by minister of defense and I corrected you…Just because I am correcting you does not mean I am behind my Turkish governments actions… I would have laughed at it if you had written” look at the fantasy map of some nationalists’ ”
I hope you see the point
Where did I say that you are behind the Turkish government’s actions, mermaid?! And how could I have possibly said such a thing?! :o :(
+1 for Rob’s movie blog where the most heated discussion is on the merits of superhero films)!
As long as there is mutual respect there is nothing wrong with discussing politics. It is one of my greatest passions and interests and it’s clear that I do not agree with everyone on ET I have had discussions with, but we respect each other’s views and enjoy our discussions so I see nothing wrong with it. If there’s a lack of respect then that is different, but that goes with any subject not just politics.
I enjoy a bit of political discussion as long as it is respectful and informative. It’s a very interesting thing to do in an international forum like ET imo. On the other hand, all the political fighting we saw on ESCToday in the old dayswas terrible.
I do agree. ET looks and feels like a left wing populist message board surprisingly often nowadays.
Arilena Ara and Tiri Gjoci the first confirmed artists for FiK 58!
Arilena is a huge name and get but she’s been rumoured to want to do ESC for a while. I’ve always liked Tiri’s works too and he was one of the excellent backing vocalists for Jonida in Tel Aviv.
I love Arilena Ara!!!! Aeroplan was my absolute favorite Albanian song when I was like 14, and I honestly still love it. Now my final wish is to get Era Istrefi to do FiK (it’ll never happen).
Her former ETSC entry “Nentori” is one of my guilty pleasures. It’s on my playlist. Well, at least it used to be, until I got my mp3 device stolen in July :)
Fun Fact: “Nentori” was first intended to be entered for FiK 56, but it was rejected because of Darko Dimitrov’s involvement in it. Then they entered it to Kenga Magjike, where it finished 3rd and became a huge hit in Eastern Europe.
No coincidence she enters when RTSH relax the foreign composer rule.
I see. Thanks ;)
Yll Limani (who probably should have won FiK 55 over Lindita), Festina Mejzini, and Nita Latifi (a newcomer) have also been confirmed now.
Woooow, surprise!!! Positive, of course… :)
She and Mihai should form a duet. Perfect fit for each other.
https://twitter.com/alyryanmusic/status/1184762794362757122
She’s really desperate – she also applied in SWI and is making demands in Germany?? Outside of bubble noone knows who she is.
She’s becoming really cringey. She would’ve been great for Germany this year, and applying for Switzerland is relatively understandable since they’re neighbors and share similar culture/history/etc., but it’s getting really out of hand now. San Marino and Ireland because a DNA test said she’s “partly Irish” (probably like 2%), that’s just embarrassing.
ROFL
Would you like to see KAZKA for Ukraine at ESC with this (latest) song:
Based on studio version, not on her live! :(
I like this song and I liked their VIDBIR song. On the other hand, the vocals weren’t perfect.
Euro-desperate!
Perfect indeed. :)
Today I had an oportunity to meet with Lesotho’s deleagtion of 141st IPU, memebers of Parlament of Lesotho! Yaaaaay!! :)
Great. :)
I represented Lesotho in FdlC once and got a decent result.
:O wonderful entry! I’d award 12 100%!! <3
It is the highest country in the World (100% above 1000 m, 1400 – 3482 m)!
I thought that you might like it. :)
RIP Elijah Cummings :(
Sad news. RIP
I’ve just read the news. May he RIP.
I wonder IF KAZKA will take part at Vidbir 2020!?
Probably; the NF season is way better than ESC itself. :)
You are right :( … However I booked air ticket and accomodation for Netherlands.. :D
I regret for Lisbon 2018 now, you can’t imagine how! :'(
More for Lisbon than ESC itself..
Lisbon is not going anywhere. Portugal will not wing again anytime soon though. LOL
Ms. Pelosi is a courageous and classy lady; I may not agree with her all the time, but she has been a true leader:
https://image.businessinsider.com/5da83fac4af90975de0a75e2?width=1100&format=jpeg&auto=webp
Mr. Trump proved once again how stupid he can be. This photo will brand his presidency for posterity.
It’s astonishing how he manages to crater to new lows virtually every day.
That’s his value.
I am under the impression we haven’t seen nothing yet… Trump will ‘destroy’ the USA before admitting that he is not capable of running the country.
Agree he will have to be dragged out of the White House kicking and screaming, sadly.
I should have written ‘anything’, but I think the double negative is a more Trumpian way of conveying information. I have to go now. Good night. :)
Indeed she is really nice character in that American sitcom.
:)
And now Trump’s chief of staff Mick Mulvaney admits there was a quid pro quo and told critics to “get over it.” What is going on and how does anyone think this sort of news is normal??
Indeed.
I do not always agree with Pelosi either but the way she is not afraid of Trump is so admirable. A universe where Trump and Pence are both removed from office so Pelosi becomes President would be poetic justice.
If Trump feels cornered, he will take as many people as he can down with him. Pence may be one of them.
He’s already tried it. Giuliani tried to throw both of them under the bus too. None of them have loyalties to anyone but themselves, and I can’t wait until this circus finally comes to an end one way or another.
Ghouliani is the only person who might be even more unhinged than Dump.
I’m embarrassed that he used to be our mayor. I don’t know what New Yorkers were thinking that he could’ve managed to win any sort of election here. He is truly out of his mind.
Not only people but countries too …
Future Presidents will need decades to repair the damage Mr. Trump has done to the US’ global power and reputation.
As Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said, defeating Trump in 2020 will not fix the massive damage he has caused in this country or eliminate the far-right mindsets that got him elected, that will take much more work.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is a very intelligent and talented lady but she still needs some time to mature imo. Nevertheless, she is a very important voice in US American politics.
I agree. She has made a huge impact on American politics at such a young age, and I am very interested in where her career in politics may go within the next 10 years. She already has some of the highest name recognition in the House as a freshman which is amazing, and is probable one of the most popular politicians amongst my generation.
I’m very excited now, after Donny Ademaj told us Arilena Ara will take part at FiK! :)
She is really popular in Eastern Europe and especially in Russia, she recorder her biggest hit “Nentori” in Albanian, English and Russian as well. She performed in Moscow and in Belarus on big events!
I dunno how that is wellcomed in Ukraine though.. :/ :P
Her live vocals are powerful and specific:
Everyone pray for my New York Yankees. We need to win the next three games if we want to make it to the World Series.
I’m not interested in sports, so it won’t matter much, but….
I grew up in Red Sox territory, so I’m probably not the person to call on to root for the Yankees, haha 😜
Booo
Damn New Englanders
I am not into baseball (bloody Europeans …) but good luck!
Rumours have started swirling today about Hungary’s possible withdrawal from Eurovision 2020. It seems that rules for next year’s A Dal published today mention nothing about the winning song representing the country at Eurovision. They also allow songs released since March this year which is a clear breach of Eurovision rules. Since they have not officially confirmed for Rotterdam yet, it is not clear whether they are withdrawing or will go for an internal selection after this year’s non-qualification.
In other news, it seems Carola is intent to take part in the next Melfest with a song she wrote herself, inspired by her religious faith.
Those news don’t sound good … both of them. :(
sigh (to both news)
I welcome cordially Carola back with her self penned love song to Jesus. Her 2008 One Love was already leaning heavily on the deluded side, so I’m looking forward very high entertaining value with this one. Match Made in Heaven :-)
I am afraid Eurovision fandom has lost their sense of humour or proportion a long time ago. I imagine another collective hissy fit, something like this:
LOL Collective hissy fits in ESC fandom are very entertaining too, so basically we will be treated a double whammy!
Not looking forward to it at all, lol.
Me neither. ROFL
The 2nd rumor was short-lived since Carola denied a MF return and i really hope Hungary won’t scrap my beloved A Dal. :/
💕
Togravus will recognize some places in the video too ;) :P
I have just watched it. What a lovely treat at the end of a busy and rather annoying day. :) I had my living room and office freshly painted today. When the work was finished, I served a snack (bread, ham, cheese, tomatos, olives etc.) After his second beer the painter began a rant by claiming that all Jews were attention seekers exploiting Germans. He then went on stating that all refugees were lazy fraudsters and that the Turkish people had no culture. When I told him that I loved Turkish culture, lived in Istanbul and had close Turkish friends he became really unpleasant. At this point, I showed him the door. He did a fantastic job painting my rooms but I fear that I will have to find a new painter.
I missed the churches in this clip but fond memories of walking along the sea promenade at night came up.
:)
It’s a tradition here too to serve coffee, drink or a snack to the technicians who come for work at one’s house (painters, plumbers, electricians etc).
I can understand how you felt hearing stuff like this. I had a similar experience a couple of years ago in a taxi when the driver after listening to some vomit-inducing conspiracy theories on the radio (taxi drivers in Greece have this annoying habit of listening to stuff like that while on duty), started a similar rant regarding refugees, immigrants, the “glorious” past of Greece and the superiority of the Greek “race”. I had to ask him to stop the car for me to get off. I did that in order to protect both me and him because I easily lose my temper in situations like these I must admit! :D (btw, I never understood why some professionals namely taxi drivers and lorry drivers are so right-wingers)!
PS: There are exceptions of course. I still remember, f.e. a taxi I took some years ago, where the lady taxi driver was listening to classical music while on duty :)
PS2: I’m so happy that the guys in the video included the Heptapyrghion castle and the old prison in particular! <3
Heptapyrghion castle is a very special place indeed. :)
Luckily all the other craftsmen I work with are nice chaps. And the roofer is very hot …
Recentely I discovered that Rwanda is actually developing a lot and that Kigali is the safest capital in Africa. Germany invests and collaboarats with Rwanda a lot… I didn’t know that. Have you heard about that? Tourism is developing quite good too.
Yes, Rwanda has been quite prominent as an example of hope in Africa on German news for quite some time. The other one is Botswana, which is the only African country that has existed as a functioning democracy since independence. Seretse Khama was a great man. :)
Senegal is promising too… :)
Burundi is so close to Rwanda and has everything same Rwanda has when it comes to nature, ppl, resources, landscapes, but it has huge problems! :(
Burundi should learn from their neighbours, and as far as I know there are still massive corruption issues in Senegal. However, apart from that, Senegal seems to be on the right track.
Btw, do you know this tv series which was aired around 7 or 8 years ago? I loved watching it:
And, at last, after a couple of dozens of irrelevant and off-topic comments by me… :P
Here are my most favourite Spanish entries in the ESC:
69, 70, 73, 80, 82, 83, 85, 87, 90, 91, 95, 97, 10.
1983, being my absolute fav most probably (followed by 1973, 1990 and 1970 (probably the only JI song I like).
Mine is definitely 66 my only Spanish esc win. But I do love a few more like 67 (I do love Rafael), 65, 64 (Spain in the 60s was rather good but their two wins there are irrelevant happy go lucky tunes), 70, 71 (Spain in the 70 is three more runner ups but I only like 71 and never cared for the cult 73 even if it’s an exquisite melody), 80, 83 (one of the most underrated songs ever with Belgium that year), 84, 85 (underrated), 90 (their second best probably, not huge on recent Spain their good rated stuff like 91, 93, 95 or 97 are all ok to me but nothing more and 92, 96, 98, 99 are all awful), and in the 00s I dont like any except that I love laughing at 05, 06, 09 and do find the blonde sexy in Gson’s 07 entry (I feel nothing for the 2001-2002-2003-2004 run that did surprisingly well) 2010 is ok, 2012 is their only nice entry this century to me and I almost hate most of them but think 2013, 2015 and 2016 and 2019 were underrated, their most recent entry being a huge “guilty” pleasure in the end, thanks to Miki!
1973 is our biggest disagreement regarding Spain in the ESC. Rafael too (togravus agrees with you on this if I remember correctly).
And i agree regarding Spain 2019 ;)
I really like Spain 2005 but the live performace was a bit awkward …
I liked the song before the live, now it’s just fun camp
The wtf news of the day. Chad issued stamps with the Israeli esc winners on it: https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5607492,00.html?fbclid=IwAR3VnOdnb0fB2GmxfA0EWBRDXhkbQHqrV8xwln4YVFaM_V3M5GbANg_gOzU
@ Morgan, I have just watched the Paris 2017 production of Verdi’s ‘Don Carlos’. It’s the most fantastic opera ever imo. :) <3
I still prefer Rameau’s “Les Indes galandes” and with Cogitore’s staging at Bastille it’s quite the event of the year for me!
Thanks. I’ll try to find that production online. My next opera stop will be the ‘Barbiere’ with the family on my mother’s birthday at the end of the month. :)
can you see this?
Yes. Looks and sounds great. :) <3 *clapclap*
But at the end of the day, I will always be a Bellini, Rossini & Verdi fanboy, with Verdi's 'Don Carlo' and 'Othello' being my favourites. Such musical brilliance, such depth, such a understanding of the (hopeless) nature of mankind.
I cant stop listening to Viki Gabor – “Superhero”, Poland JESC 2019! :D
SAVE THE WORLD, PLANET IS MY HOME!
Director of FiK this year is Florent Boshnjaku, well-know composer who wrote “Suus”.
Good news, one hopes. :)
157 songs submitted in Songvakeppnin 2020. This is approximately 20% more songs than last year.
Hatari effect?
Yes,that’s what the article hints as well.
Paris 2024 logo:
Meh, the candidacy logo was much better
Like a hairdresser’s logo
The concept is good – combining gold medal, Olympic flame and Marianne – the execution not so. Why on earth they are harking back to Paris 1924 and heydays of Art Deco? Totally wrong move, it’s just lame.
Overall Olympic graphic design has been in steep downhill since Mexico 1968 and Munich 1972 both deeply rooted in history, tradition and forward thinking current trends at the same time. So nothing new here. There haven’t been any gold standards after those two.
Nothing can beat this one. The best Olympics’ logo in post-war history, imho. Pure art.
https://image.slidesharecdn.com/79b7a625-10c8-4dca-b55a-d748a0a273ad-160307082130/95/athens-2004-licensing-program-style-guide-2lr-1-638.jpg?cb=1457339065
Sorry, Mexico is pure graphic art as is Munich.
The Marianne element doesn’t work IMO – nobody outside France under what, 40, be aware of thatz and indeed for those who see the woman’s silhouette (not a given), it seems… odd. Typical let me guess Publicis “In France weee zink zis is creative” pitch proposal no.2.
Don’t think 90% of the viewers give a second thought about the logo. For the rest of the non French ones, it’s good time as any to learn about Marianne. And hey, chic prog hipster chicks around the world could read it as Simone de Beauvoir. Empowerment!
99%.
I met Simone de Beauvoir once whille walking forlornly through the Andes contemplating the universe.
That’s when you were living in Chile, right?
Maybe – I’m not sure but I’m positive I had a very important job.
I think that’s what they wanted Im just very disappointed it’s not more flamboyant. What yellow is this? Moutarde?
LOL Retarde? Gold is always very difficult, and this looks just bad. Now all I see is old fashioned badly scented super market hair care product line called La Flamme. Well, if you think about it that’s very flamboyant 😃
I like her so much:
Netanyahu officially fails to form a government and now Gantz will be invited to do so. Are we finally done with the Israeli far-right in power?
It seems we are done with the far-right, and start with the… “plain”-right :)
So, I couldn’t care less, tbh :)
At this point anything seems better than more Netanyahu at least
I’m fed up with having to choose the lesser of two evils :P :D
But enough about your love life… ;-).
ROFL
Mine too, it’s OK ;-)
Definitely never move to the US then lol
sigh :( :P
He’ll get a US passport and will immediately be appointed as Secretary of Homeland Security, I fear.
The saddest part is that this doesn’t seem too far off
If he could, he would do it…
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50134640
“His party (Andrew Scheer’s) is expected to win the popular vote but failed to translate that support into seats.”
So, if I get it right, Trudeau will win the most seats but his rival (Scheer) will win the popular vote?
https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2019/10/21/canadians-cast-their-ballots-after-divisive-campaign-and-amid-tight-polls.html
That’s FPTP, which is totally unfair imo. Just look at the UK’s House of Commons. The numbers there do not represent the election results percentage-wise.
Exactly.
I have been saying this for ages now. Some of the electoral systems in many western countries are totally unfair, borderline undemocratic :(
The Greek extra seats for the party that won most votes are questionable too imo.
Here in Germany we have an issue withthe Überhang- und Ausgleichmandaten, which make the Bundestag grow out of all proportion. It worked well in the times we had two major and one minor party. But with the 6 parties we have in the Bundestag now, it has become dysfunctional. I still like the idea though.It works like this:
We have two votes in general elections. With the 1st vote (Erststimme) we elect our constituency MP, andwith the 2nd vote (Zweitstimme) we vote for a party.
Let’s assume that there are 100 constituencies in Bavaria. The CSU gets 35 % overall (Zweitstimme) but gets the highest shares of votes (Erststimme) in 65 constituencies. Those 65 CSU candidates geta seat in the Bundestag, just like the 35 from other parties who won the remaining constituencies. In order to represent the result percentage-wise (Zweitstimme), more candidates from the other parties’ lists are added for a seat in the Bundestag until the percentages of the overall outcome (Zweitstimme) are represented. And it works like that in all 16 states. It’s quite compliacted but makes perfect sense imo, except for the number of MPswe get these days. I think that we simply need to reduce the number of constituencies.
I don’t understand one word of it.
Neither do many Germans. LOL
My summary is more concise, right?!
Of course it is.
“The Greek extra seats for the party that won most votes are questionable too imo.”
Couldn’t agree more!
And guess what, our new, “back-to-normality” government (this is their slogan), wants to overrule a closer-to-proportionate representation electoral law introduced by the former government in order to have the upper hand in forming a majority till the end of times (at least they believe so).
Thanks for the analysis regarding Germany. It sounds complicated indeed, but i agree that it kinda makes sense at the same time. I still believe though that the fairest system is the Dutch one, or the one they had in Italy before 1994 :)
The Netherlands has of course the complete opposite system. Often I read that the British system has the advantage of a MP that represents the area he/she is chosen in. But what if that MP is from a party you have zero connection with.
Indeed. And why vote f. e. for the UK Greens if you know that your vote will count for nothing?
In Germany we have both, constituency MPs and MPs from the party lists. You can check my reply to Oxi if you are not familiar with the German system.
Try the German system, it’s a combo of FPTP in districts plus a state level list based on PR with a 5% threshold. Only disadvantage is you end up with a bunch of extra seats when parties win a ton of direct seats while being much Lower in second vote PR Share. Could be ameliorated nie by emergence of multi-party system so it’s not just big 2 winning most district seats.
I’ve just tried to explain our very well blanaced but quite complicated system in a reply to Oxi …
I’m sure both Greeks and Dutch will be thrilled about advice from Germany ;-).
Do you remember Grönemeyer’s ‘Tanzen’?
“Wir tanzen, tanzen, tanzen der ganzen Welt vor
Wir zeigen, zeigen, zeigen ihr den Schritt
Wir wissen endlich wieder wo es langgeht
Was ansteht, grundsolide, grundgut”
Beinahe prophetisch … :(
Grönemeyer was really popular around HS graduation for me (probably you too – he and INXS) – I feel like he’s done the same ever since.
INXS <3 <3 <3 I fell in love with them while I was on skiing holidays in Zell am See. :)
Elitist nouveau riche!
And proud of it. :)
All you trust fund boys are ;-)
Actually the Dutch are very fond of the Germans lately. We hardly laugh at them when we defeat them in football.
Not even in football?? What happened?
The Belgians became our enemies when they had the audacity to become better then us.
LOL I love the Belgian team atm.
As long as they are losing, I agree.
The Dutch electoral system is the fairest imho.
And we also have the BIGGEST ballots
Yeah, size is never an issue with you guys (nor is having a positive attitide).
Just epic!
Here’s how the ones in Greece look like :)
https://cdn.sofokleousin.gr/sites/default/files/styles/node_full/public/2019-05/ekloges_0.jpg?itok=tDDtBqRA
Why so many?
Each one for every party that takes part in the elections.
The voter is given one ballot paper for every party and an envelope. He/She goes behind that curtain, picks the ballot paper of the party he/she wants to vote for and puts it inside that envelope. Then he/she casts the envelope with the ballot paper inside it into the ballot box :)
And what happens with the papers that aren’t used? Because you deduct from those what the person voted for.
But at least you don’t have the hassle of folding those giant ones we have.
There’s a recycle bin behind the curtain where the voter dumps the papers that are not used.
Personally, I keep them in order to take a more detailed look at them afterwards :)
I do this since the first time i voted back in 1989. Unfortunately I recycle them afterwards too. If I had kept them all these years I would have had a nice and interesting ballot paper collection :(
We have huge ones for local elecions here in BaWü because we are allowed to split our votes, cross-vote and accumulate our votes. That’s even too much for me because I do not know every single candidate. Normally I simply vote for a party list unless someone from a different party has left an excellent impression to me.
LOL, look who replied to that tweet
So you are saying Greeks = long and thin? Not my experience.
LOL :P
Can’t reply to your comments on Red Devils so – but Eden Hazard is hot though, don’t you think?!
Toby Alderweireld for me please.
#4way!
A Spurs boy ;)
His ass is one of the best but not my type of guy
I know we are always ideal tonot fight over a guy lol.
I think that in American presidential elections, the fact you can win the popular vote but still lose the election is totally unfair and undemocratic. But in House/Senate/etc. elections if a party garners the most votes nationally but doesn’t win the most seats because of single-member constituencies, I think that’s totally fair because we are not voting for parties we are voting for candidates, and if a candidate gets the most votes in their constituency they deserve that seat regardless of how the party does nationally, especially considering in the end we only have two parties capable of winning seats.
US politics have always been much more personalized than German politics. Here itis all about political parties and most people would think of FPTP as a political oddity.
Very true. Almost every aspect of American society favors the individual over the collectivity.
Even in health care it’s all about individual responsibility (*cough*). As someone once said: This week the heart attack, and next week the marshal. :(
Quite hilarious as usually it’s the right-wing parties who seem to benefit from FPTP (not a catchy acronym!).
I agree. Missing a vowel it is very hard to sing too. This must be considered … regarding that we are commenting in an ESC space.
I am represented by useless Mr. Bilger btw. :(
My district thanks to the lists has a rep from each of the 4 mainstream parties. Green Rep changed with last election hint the former one hit on me on a chat site a few years back lol.
LOL
I hope that Mr. Bilger might be substituted by a Green candidate in the next elections. :)
Btw, as an electoral geography nerd here, I have bookmarked this site :)
I checked about Herr Bilger :)
http://wahl.tagesschau.de/wahlen/2017-09-24-BT-DE/index.shtml
Good boy. :)
Mr. Bilger is a political waste of space. :(
That’s how the system works. It is not fair, I agree.
Mahmood was in European parliament yesterday!
Look here:
David SASSOLI, EP President meets with Alessandro MAHMOOD and MAIORINO – Multimedia Centre https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/david-sassoli-ep-president-meets-with-alessandro-mahmood-and-maiorino_20191022_EP-094442A_DLL_118_p#ssh
There’s been a lot of buzz recently about Hillary Clinton entering the primaries to steal the nomination away from progressives since the center of the party thinks they can’t beat Warren or Sanders with their current candidates. God I hope this doesn’t happen.
You are not alone. She keeps frighteningly popping up here and there with her opinions and smear nobody wants hear, and seems to me that she’s even more deluded of her 2016 campaign than ever before. She still refuses to take any kind of responsibility for that train wreck.
No, it can’t be true. Still bring in some professional exorcist with stellar track record.
I totally understand why she’d want to come back – it was very clearly her dream to become president and to have that stolen by a reality television personality aided by Russian interference must be soul crushing, but she has to realize it is time to move on. Also I don’t know why people assume she’d win this time when she lost once and is probably the most hated Democrat (maybe the overall most hated politician) in the country. I’m also tired of corporate centrists shitting all over progressives because progressivism is finally what the people want instead corporatism that helps no one. The Clintons, Obamas, Bidens, etc. of this country are what created Trump, so let’s put them to rest now.
Fully agree, Trump is a symptom, not the cause. Sad fact is that American dark underbelly has been there always – racism, latent racism, gun violence, outrageous gun laws, mindless deportation of illegal immigrants etc., etc. Trump brought it into spotlight and gave it a voice. He did not invent it. Unfortunately, solving these problems won’t happen overnight as they were built during generations with the help of both parties and under their governance. Younger electorate will probably be very disappointed as they lack historical perspective or have lost it during past three years. All I hope at the moment that Democrats have taken good notes on Clinton’s failed campaign. You have to speak to Americans and you can’t do that if you are spokesperson globalist and elitist Davos set cheerlead by Hollywood fame industry. You really do have to go to Michigan if you want to be president. Mrs Clinton snubbing it 2016 summarizes everything of her out of touch campaign.
Other thing that worries me is that I think that presidency is now damaged beyond repair. How badly, remains to be seen. One thing is for sure, it will never be the same in the eyes of the Americans or the world. As for America’s clout in the world, it won’t come back, but mainly because America’s century is over. Both Obama and Trump helped to deteriorate in their own unique way America’s authority by playing to China’s and Russian’s hands.
Populists raise the right questions to get the attention of the electorate, unfortunately they always serve the wrong answers. Democrats should now raise the right meaningful questions and come with right answers. I think it’s doable, but it wont be easy. It would help, if American progressives learn one crucial lesson from the European left. Without solidarity you never be able to beat the beast.
I come from the very progressive country, we basically choose between different shades of progressiveness or we can choose right wing populist party, this goes basically with all Nordic countries. When it comes to America, I’m happy as long as it’s Democrat in White House next, though I’m warming up to Warren, especially with her stance with big tech.
Yes, the truth is that since the 1990s (at least) the only choice Americans had was between the center-right and the right. Every Democratic presidential nominee between Mr. Clinton to Mrs. Clinton have been center-right masquerading as left-wing, it has always been a false choice and now we’re finally getting true left-wing representation in politicians like Sanders and Warren, and then newcomers like AOC, Ilhan Omar, Ro Khanna, Rashida Tlaib, etc. We cannot succumb to these center-right figures and allow them to take that away from us.
It is a totally correct analysis that but Democrats and Republicans have been doing the same thing, but it seems that all the blame has been put on Trump. Has he amplified things? Sure, but almost everything he’s done Obama has done too. Neither of them are innocent and if we want to vilify Trump then let’s vilify Obama too. For some odd reason Obama is deemed a national hero here despite deporting millions, creating a healthcare plan written to help healthcare companies, and murdering innocents in war. The point of the matter is these center-right Democrats have alienated Middle America for DECADES, and that is why Clinton lost to Trump. When you feel ignored by the mainstream for 8+ years, you turn to drastic measures, and that drastic measure was Trump. We cannot go back to politics that created this viewpoint.
Electing a progressive Democrat in 2020 (at this point it’d have to be Warren because I don’t think any of the others have a real shot) will definitely put us on the right track, but we’re gonna need a lot of time to transition from the decades of right-wing politics we’ve had in this country. I also disagree about being happy as long as there’s a Democrat in office. Democrats like Biden, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, so many more, are not Democrats; they have Republican positions and are pure Clintonites, and seeing them elected would feel no different than Trump or any other Republican for me. I need a real Democrat who has actual left-wing ideas.
What do you think about Kamala Harris?
Very mixed feelings. She’s solidly a Clintonite Democrat which is already a problem for me, but she tries to pander to both the left and the center all the time without ever choosing a clear cut stance and now nobody likes her. First she had centrist positions so the left didn’t like her, then she adopted leftist positions to make the left like her but they already didn’t so then the center started to dislike her too, now she went back to the center to try to win that support back again but it’s too late, no one likes her.
She had SO MUCH potential to be a huge star, but her flip flopping has ruined things. Also, she is running a horrible campaign and is absolutely clueless in debates, as if she shows up drunk. She definitely has no chance in this election cycle, maybe come back in 2024 or 2028 to give it a second chance with a better team behind you Kamala, but for now you’re done.
Her history on criminal justice is also very concern. She was a prosecutor in California and imprisoned A LOT of impoverished POC for minor crimes such as marijuana use (and then laughed about how she once smoked weed too in an interview) and did a lot of other shady things too (there’s a whole list). It’s especially hard to excuse that considering she is African-American herself and many felt as if she abandoned her people in order to move up the corporate ladder.
Hmm isnt’s her Mother from India and her father of Jamaican decent?
When I first saw her name I thought maybe she could be of Albanian decent! :D
Thank you for explanation Lina and your perception. :)
Yes she’s half Indian half Jamaican but our census considers all black people as African-American for the most part (the terms black and African-American can typically be used interchangeably but that’s starting to change a bit).
Don’t think this has been mentioned here yet…
https://eurovoix.com/2019/10/22/ebu-consulting-about-possible-changes-to-eurovision-voting/
I think that another change to the voting system is a bad idea. The friends who aren’t ESC fans but attend my parents’ party every year already struggle to understand what is going on once the votes are counted. Back in the old days everyone understood what was going on but for the last couple of years I had to explain the voting system at every party.
It’s becoming a somewhat messy affair.
I couldn’t put it any better than this lady:
What?! I’ve just checked ESC Portugal and they posted an article based on a statement made by Toñi Prieto from TVE. It seems that possible changes are being discussed.